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kristennd's review against another edition
5.0
I've been reading Trillin's essays for years but this is the first time I've sat down with an entire book's worth. As with many poetry collections, I sat down expecting to browse through a small selection of pieces at a time but then suddenly I'd finished it.
Although everything was written in the 70s, remarkably little is dated. Many foodie trends have, in fact, cycled back around. My copy is a first edition hardcover. It cost about $2 and likely always will but the yellowing pages and dated dustjacket font added nicely to what nostalgia there was.
Besides the food, the fun of reading Trillin is in the humor, the kind that provides a chuckle on nearly every page, far too frequently to quote. It's the same sort of humor as Nora Ephron's, but less political and more prolific. I did get a little green about their apparently unlimited travel and leisure budget, though. And I kept wanting to tell Alice to just go sightsee without him rather than always missing out on a museum in favor of a restaurant.
The more about food you've read, the more rewarding this collection is. My favorite part was encountering Shopsin's when it was still just a grocery and mentioned under a different name. Trillin also describes a restaurant in Reading PA called simply Joe's, whose award-winning cookbook I bought (new) 20 years later.
It's not an entirely fun book. Alice Trillin comes across so vividly as such an interesting, clever, and just plain nice person that her relatively early death (in 2001) casts a melancholy light on many passages.
On the plus side, this is the second of a trilogy. And I would love another helping.
Although everything was written in the 70s, remarkably little is dated. Many foodie trends have, in fact, cycled back around. My copy is a first edition hardcover. It cost about $2 and likely always will but the yellowing pages and dated dustjacket font added nicely to what nostalgia there was.
Besides the food, the fun of reading Trillin is in the humor, the kind that provides a chuckle on nearly every page, far too frequently to quote. It's the same sort of humor as Nora Ephron's, but less political and more prolific. I did get a little green about their apparently unlimited travel and leisure budget, though. And I kept wanting to tell Alice to just go sightsee without him rather than always missing out on a museum in favor of a restaurant.
The more about food you've read, the more rewarding this collection is. My favorite part was encountering Shopsin's when it was still just a grocery and mentioned under a different name. Trillin also describes a restaurant in Reading PA called simply Joe's, whose award-winning cookbook I bought (new) 20 years later.
It's not an entirely fun book. Alice Trillin comes across so vividly as such an interesting, clever, and just plain nice person that her relatively early death (in 2001) casts a melancholy light on many passages.
On the plus side, this is the second of a trilogy. And I would love another helping.
ravuri's review against another edition
3.0
This is a very nice about food by American humorist Calvin Trillin. In a short story format, Trillin describes his eating of everything from barbeque ribs to hog's pie across America and Europe. Trillin is a man who loves to eat and does not have the pretensions of many food writers. That he can also write about food (unlike the current NY Times food reporter Frank Bruni) makes the book even more enjoyable.
The book, however, is not perfect. Although "Alice, Let's Eat" is supposed to be humorous, there are really only a couple places where I laughed out loud (granted I have no sense of humor). Also, some of the stories, such as "Sound of Eating", towards the end were kind of weak and meandering. Overall, though, I thought the book was quite good.
Note: I rate goodreads books like the NY Times food reviews, so it's a very difficult curve. Basically my rating is NYT review + 1, so all in all, not bad at all.
The book, however, is not perfect. Although "Alice, Let's Eat" is supposed to be humorous, there are really only a couple places where I laughed out loud (granted I have no sense of humor). Also, some of the stories, such as "Sound of Eating", towards the end were kind of weak and meandering. Overall, though, I thought the book was quite good.
Note: I rate goodreads books like the NY Times food reviews, so it's a very difficult curve. Basically my rating is NYT review + 1, so all in all, not bad at all.
memarq0's review against another edition
4.0
I actually LOL'd in real life throughout this one. The cleverness and self references throughout were a delight.
joreads7's review against another edition
2.0
Maybe Calvin Trillin is funnier in small doses like a New Yorker length article, but this book is the definition of a humorist trying to hard. HAHAHAH I love eating. LOL my wife is a nag.
somechelsea's review
4.0
I'm officially not a foodie, which means that I read this book simply because Trillin wrote it, and not because the subject interested me. And while I skimmed a few passages here and there, it was a fun read with Trillin's humor in full force.
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